I Stand With You
by ABreathAwayFromWhereYouAre
Summary: Eponine and Marius knew each other when they were young. When Eponines' father beats her for the first time she comes running to Marius for help. How will their lives change?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I know I have other stories that I need to write, but this wouldn't leave me alone.**

**Disclamer: I don't own Les Mis**

A little girl ran down the street. Tears were streaming down her face. She wore a dress that must have once been pretty and a blue hat. Her clothing was somewhat dirty, but certainly not as bad as many of the people on the streets. She her eyes searched the street searching for a certain boy. When she didn't find him she moved on.

" Marius" Eponine cried her voice cracking just a little. She was still upset, but the tears had subsided for the time being. Marius looked up to see his best friend standing in front of him, she looked very upset. " 'Ponine? Are you alright?" She shook her head trembleing. " My papa struck me and when I screamed he beat me." She said gasping for breath in between her words. " He said something about the servant girl having never screame. She left two years ago, why does it matter?" She asked her eyes glazing over with tears.

Marius pulled the girl into an embrace. " Marius I'm scared" she whispered shaking. Marius gave her a comforting squeeze. " 'Ponine I won't let hime hurt you again." He said looking down at her " I don't know how, but we'll find a way I promise." Eponine seemed reasurred by his words and rest her head against his chest. They stayed that way for a while.

It started to get dark and Marius Knew that they would have to get home. He knew that he shouldn't leave Eponine alone for he was sure she would get hurt again. He decided to bring her home with him. His parents were good people he thought that they would probably help her in some way. He was sure they would know what to do. Marius stood and helped Eponine up " come on let's go home maybe you can stay with me for a while." Marius said leading Eponine in the direction of his house. They walked in silence not chattering like they did on most days.

When they reached Marius' house Marius put out a hand for Eponine to wait. Marius went to go find his mother. He thought that she would be very sypathetic for the girls position. Marius had never seen Eponine scared she was always very brave. He knew that recently her family had been losing money, and by the looks of Eponine she had been put to work at the inn.

Marius found his mother in an upper level sitting room. She had a needle and thread in hand and seemed to be embroidering something. Marius rushed into the room letting the story of Eponine spill out of his mouth. He was very worried about her. His mother listened to him nodding every once in a while to let him know that she was listening.

Marius' mother smiled when he was done with the story. " I believe we must do something then" Taking Marius' hand they walked back to the front door, where a cold Eponine was coming. When the front door opened she backed away a little on edge. " It's okay sweety" Marius' mother said to Eponine beconing her forward. " I won't hurt you" Eponine took a few cautious steps towards Mrs. Pontmercy. The woman smiled warmly and Eponine came all the way to the front door. She looked up at Mrs. Pontmercy her eyes wide.

Mrs. Pontmercys' heart melted seeing her sons' friend look up at her in such a way. Mrs. Pontmercy had always wanted a daughter, after having Marius she had been unable to have anymore children. She smiled maybe she could take this young girl could become her daughter. Mrs. Pontmercy motioned the girl into the house she could stay for the night or maybe longer. Mrs. Pontmercy hoped that Eponine might somehow become her daughter. The two children ran down the hall to a guest room where Eponine would stay.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thank you so much for all of you who reviewed and followed this. It makes me feel really happy. I promise I'll update A World That I Have Never Known soon**

**Disclamer: I do not own Les Mis**

Eponine never went back to her parents. Mrs. Pontmercy absolutely adored having a girl around the house. The family soon decided that Eponine would become part of the family. Eponine said that her parents wouldn't care if she was around or not. She said that all either of them really seemed to do was drink. She doubted they'd notice she was even missing. One less mouth to feed one less body in the way.

The Pontmercys' accepted what Eponine said having only heard bad things about the adult Thenardiers. The Pontmercys' had new papers made to show that Eponine was their daughter. She soon fell into normal flow with them. Mrs. Pontmercy would teach Eponine how to sew and embroider. Eponine was not allowed to run around as she had been allowed to by Madame Thenardier. Mrs. Pontmercy said that it was unbecoming for a girl her age to run around like the boys.

Eponine learned how to read very fast. Her parents had taught her a few words, just enough to get along, but she had never learned how to read things like books. Eponine found that she enjoyed reading. She had always enjoyed listening to stories. Eponine loved learning new things too. Unlike Marius who liked to play, Eponine enjoyed staying inside or maybe sitting on a bench and reading. Eponine also had an aptitude for dancing, which she began to learn when she was about fourteen. She started the lessons right after they had moved to Paris. Eponine and Marius were staying with his grandfathers. The grounds were so big and she rarely left them.

When Marius was eighteen ( Eponine fifteen) he started going to school. Eponine was jealous she had always been the one who wanted to learn, but of course since she was a girl she wasn't allowed to go to the Parisian schools. Marius' views slowly began to alter and one day he got extremely angry with his grandfather and said he was moving out. Eponine came with him of course, they were like brother and sister she loved him and he loved her. Neither of them had romantic feelings for the other.

The flat that they moved to was much smaller that what they had been staying at before, but it was still a high class area and Marius deemed it safe for Eponine to be out and around. Marius had always been very protective of Eponine, ever since her father had beaten her that one day.

Marius and Eponine fell into an easy routine. She stayed in their flat for most of the day, and Marius would come back at around three. Eponine envied him for going to school. She would often read his old school books once he was done with them. She had taken to writing down her thoughts on the books. Marius was taking classes on law and philosophy. Eponine found herself disagreeing with many of the punishments in the law book. Many punishments were far too harsh for the crime. Eponine would write down all her thoughts before placing her notes in a box that she kept on her desk.

One day Marius came home early to find Eponine pouring over one of his books. To that point Marius had been clueless to the fact that Eponine had been reading his old school books. Marius had never thought that Eponine would do such things, but thinking about it she had always been interested in learning. " 'Ponine?" He asked careful not to startle her. Her head snapped up from the page she had been reading her eyes wide. " Salut Marius" she said smiling. " I didn't know you were interested in reading my books" he said a grin on his face " if you need anything explained I can eplain for you" Eponine shot him a look of annoyance " I'll be sure to ask" she said before going back to her reading. Marius retreated back to his room to study.

Marius and Eponine lived fairly simple lives. Eponine did the housework and read and Marius went to school. Marius began to get caught up with a group of students who called themselves 'Les Amis' they were revolutionaries. Marius very much supported their views, although he often did not have anything to add to the discussions. The men who were part of the group were brilliant. Marius began to come home later his head full of different ideas. Marius did not tell Eponine where he went for fear of her getting hurt. For all the talk of the men was brilliant they often talked of starting a rebellion and Marius couldn't even bear the thought of Eponine getting hurt.

Eponine noticed that Marius was often absent in the evenings of certain days. She did not put much thought to it at first. She generally let Marius do what he wanted. She didn't want him to get hurt, but it was not as if she could really control what happened to him. Eponine began to get curious about Marius' whereabouts for he was gone more and more often. Eponine had at first taken Marius' absence as extra time to study, but she had nearly finished all of his school books and was getting restless. She began to worry that he was spending time with a street gang or something, though she couldn't imagine why he would do that.

Eponine finally decided that she would find out what he was doing. She dressed in boys clothes and waited in her room pretending to be taking a midday nap or something of the sort. She heard Marius leave the flat through the front door and hurried to follow. She followed him in the shadows. She was sure she blended in well for she thought that she looked very much like a street boy. Marius walked closer to the slums and Eponine began to worry. As they reached the border of the slums Marius turned down a small street and they ended up in a small cafe.

Eponine tailed Marius up the stairs to a small room where several men were already sitting. She quickly slipped into a shadowed corner to watch and see what Marius was doing. He sat down at the table and began an animated conversation with one of the other men. The other was chuckled as Marius paused. Eponine wasn't quite close enough to hear what he said.

After fifteen minutes of watching Marius talking to the other men another man entered, he comanded attention. He walked to what could be considered the front of the room. He cleared his throat rather loudly and everyone turned to watch him. The room was silent for a moment before he talked.

When the man spoke his voice rang clear and strong across the room. Eponine was captivated by his words. He talked about liberating the poor. He talked about equality. He wanted a republic, a new fair country. What fascinated Eponine most was the fact that when he spoke of law reform he did not talk much about changeing the punishment. Still when he was finished Eponine was in awe. Right after he had finished his speech Eponine slipped out. She knew what Marius had come there for that. Eponine hurried to her shared flat with Marius. It could not seem like she had been gone at all. Eponine hurried into her room changeing back into one of her dresses, she then took paper and pen out and began to write about the speech the man had done.

By the time Marius got home Eponine had about a page and a half of notes written about Marius' speech giving friend. Marius seemed happy when he got home so she supposed that he either agreed with what the other man had said, or he had had something to drink with some of those friends of his. Eponine decided that from that point forward she would slip into one of those gatherings ever so often.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Sorry I haven't really been updating. I've had so many ideas bouncing around my head that I couldn't put a single chapter down. I hope you enjoy it.**

**Disclamer: I don't own Les Mis**

Eponine began to follow Marius more and more often. She was fascinated by the words of the leader. He talked of equality. The short time that she had spent being oppressed by her father, Eponine had developed a strong opinion that no one should ever be oppressed. Eponine never spoke to any of the les amis and she always left immediately after the leader had finished speaking. Eponine knew that she always had to be home before Marius.

When Eponine got home from the meetings she would swiftly change into one of her dresses and pick up a book. By the time Marius got home, it would appear as if she had been reading for quite some time. Marius being as he was never suspected anything. Marius would sometimes talk to her about his friends, although he would tell her that they had simply been studying. Eponine got a good feel for many of the personalities of the amis. She could not put names and personalities to faces for she kept very detached at all of the meetings.

Eponine began to know her way around Paris very well. Eponine had many shortcuts that she used to get home. Some of her shortcuts went through the slums not that it bothered her. Eponine would sometimes hand a coin or two out to the beggars on the street, it was better she give it to them, than have them steal it from her. Eponine knew from her childhood that many were not above stealing. She also knew that desperation only made it worse.

On some days Marius would not go out to the cafe right away he would talk to Eponine and sometimes they would take a walk. Eponine couldn't help but feel that even though she lived with Marius, that they were growing farther and farther appart. She also felt the overbearing guilt of lying to him. He never asked her if she was following him or if she knew what he was doing in the evenings, but she was hiding something from him. Eponine had never hidden something from Marius except that she was reading his law books. Eponine thought that he would care a lot more if he knew about this for he never wanted her to be in harms way.

* * *

Marius did not have class in the morning on a warm September day. Eponine had gotten him to agree to go on a walk with her. Even in the morning the air was warm, but not hot like it would be later in the season. Eponine and Marius walked arm in arm through the streets of Paris. They had decided that it might be nice to go to a garden. Marius always took Eponine to places where she would be safe, that meant that they stayed in the student districts and sometimes went to the gardens in the even nicer parts of Paris. Even though it was still fairly early in the morning there were many people strolling through the gardens. They were most likely taking advantage of the nice weather.

Marius was happily talking to Eponine about one of his law classes. Since he had found her reading his books he had made it a point to talk to her as much as possible about the subjects he was learning. He sometime seemed to get annoyed about certain laws much as she would herself. She knew that his revolutionary friends were probably getting to him. Of course he had probably already believed those sorts of things for he wouldn't be friends with those men if he hadn't.

Out of the corner of her eye Eponine caught sight of a face that she thought seemed familiar . As she looked a little closer she realized that it was the leader of the revolution himself. Marius kept going on as she stared. After about a minute Marius realized that he no longer had her attention. He turned to see that she was watching the leader of the revolution. Marius' face broke into a huge grin and he waved trying to get the attention of his good friend. After about a minute of waving and a little bit of yelling Enjolras looked up to see Marius. Enjolras sighed walking over to his friend failing to notice the lady at his side.

" Bonjour Marius" he said smiling slightly " What are you doing out so early, I thought you said you didn't have any classes this morning." Marius chuckled a little " I don't" he said frankly " 'Ponine got me to come out with her. She says that we hardly spend enough time together" Enjolras glanced over at Eponine. She was pretty he thought, but he hardly had time for ladies not to mention he was sure that Marius must have been courting this girl. He hadn't ever heard Marius say anything about courting a girl.

Eponine shifted uncomfortably as Enjolras looked her over. She was never one to like too much attention, not that she got it often. Although she had been told that she was pretty she had a way of blending into the background. I suited her to go unnoticed, especially when she followed Marius to the cafe musain. Eponine looked at Marius pointedly waiting for him to introduce them. After a few Marius seemed to have the epiphany to introduce the two of them " Enjolras this is Eponine. Eponine this is Enjolras." Eponine smiled and held out her hand. Enjolras took her hand shaking it tentatively " It's a pleasure to meet you." Eponine said. " as it is a pleasure to meet you " Enjolras said his face unreadable.

" would you like to walk with us for a while mon ami?" Marius asked his eyebrows raised. Enjolras shook his head " No I'm afraid that I must be headed back to my flat I have a speech to write." Enjolras hurried away in the opposite direction not even saying goodbye. " I'll see you later mon ami" Marius called over his shoulder to the quickly retreating man. Marius had never seen the marble statue that was the leader of the revolution act so strangely. Marius figured that Enjolras was just stressed about the speech he would be giving at the cafe that night. Eponine wanted to get to know Enjolras better, although she doubted she would ever find the chance. She certainly could not reveal herself to him at the meetings for she was not supposed to be there.

* * *

Eponine still went to the cafe that night even after having encountered the leader earlier that day. She doubted he noticed the gamine in the background who always stuck to the shadows.

That night Enjolras decided that maybe he would question Marius about Eponine. He pulled Marius aside, the boy did not need all of the other les amis teasing him about some girl. " Marius who was that girl you were with this morning." Marius laughed " That was Eponine I did introduce you to her." Enjolras nodded. " I know, but what does she mean to you? Are you courting her?" Enjolras asked in hushed tones. Marius let out a loud laugh " Heavens no 'Jolras. She's like a sister to me I've known her since we were children. My mother took her in when her father beat her. She was to afraid to go home." He smiled " She followed me when I moved out of my grandfathers house, although I didn't want her to. She told me she felt out of place. Why do you ask mon ami has she actually caught the attention of the marble statue?" Enjolras huffed exasperatedly returning to the table with the rest of the amis.

Enjolras gave his speech soon after. His eyes searched the crowd and they landed on a small figure in the corner. He thought that it might be a youn street urchin. Maybe it was one of Gavroches friends, the boy certainly looked the part. Enjolras found that his eyes kept traveling to that figure in the shadows. As soon as he had finished his speech he began to make his way over to the corner where he thought he saw the boy. Enjolras hurriedly accepted praise from his fellow revolutionaries making steady progress towards the corner.

When Enjolras reached the corner there was no one there anymore. He heard the door close and knew that whoever had been in the corner had just left the cafe. On an impulse Enjolras quickly followed the person outside. It was raining, very different from what the wheather had been like that morning. Enjolras had given very little thought to that morning other than the fact that he had spent te day beleiving that Marius was courting someone when in fact he wasn't.

Enjolras almost missed the small figure that was moving down the street towards the rich part of town away from the slums. He wondered what a little urchin could possibly be doing going that direction. He tried to make his footsteps soft so that the urchin would not be scared and run away. He tailed them through a few alleys before he finally caught up. He grabbed the wrist which was really qite thin. The person immediately whirled around a look a fear in their eyes. Enjolras realized that the person was in fact a girl, and not just any girl it seemed that it was Eponine the girl who had been with Marius that morning.

" Hello monsieur" she said her voice shaking a little bit. She had been caught and she had no clue of if Enjolras might be angry or not. Enjolras looked at her gaping. He had not expected the person in the corner to be her. She seemed somewhat frightened. " I'm sorry did I scare you." he askes releasing her wrist. She backed away from him almost imediatly. She shook her head, but he knew that she had been frightened. " No monsieur I'm really fine." she looked at him worried " please don't tell Marius all he wants is for me to be safe. He doesn't like it when I'm in the streets alone." Enjolras smiled kindly at her " I won't if you don't wish me to." he said kindly. " have you been to any of our other meetings?" he asked her curious. It would have been easy for him to miss her. She nodded " Many. I started following Marius once I noticed he wasn't coming home as early as usual." She looked around worriedly " I really must be going. Until next time." she said before running off down the alley. Enjolras made to follow her, but quickly lost sight. He instead returned to the cafe going back to his books.


End file.
